A TEENAGER was killed in a tragic accident when he was hit by a metal fragment which flew "like a bullet from a gun" into his chest, an inquest heard.

A TEENAGER was killed in a tragic accident when he was hit by a metal fragment which flew "like a bullet from a gun" into his chest, an inquest heard.

Daniel Price, aged 19, of The Terrace, Cradley Heath, had put a 'bullet' - an explosive device used in the construction industry - into a socket and when he struck it with a hammer it exploded.

The socket smashed and part of it sheared off at high speed, entering his chest, damaging his aorta.

His friend Daniel Tomkins, also of The Terrace, said he was in an alleyway off Meadow Walk with him and another friend, Bret Matthews, when he saw Daniel put the 'bullet' in a socket and hit it with a hammer.

"It didn't go off and I told him to leave it but he went back and hit it again. There was a big bang and a flash," he told the inquest.

"I couldn't see anything wrong with him but then he fell into Bret's arms and I could see blood coming from his mouth."

Bret said: "Some friends of mine gave me the cartridges and we had been letting them off in the garden.

"We went up a gully near my home and Daniel struck one of them. I started to walk away but he struck it again.

"Daniel came staggering towards me but I didn't know what had happened at the time. He fell into my arms and said 'help me' but then started choking."

Black Country Coroner Robin Balmain, recording a verdict of accidental death, said the "bullets" were normally used with nail guns and had been stolen from a portable building used by a construction company.